Ball-winding machine.



PATEN'L'ED SEPT. 29, 1903.

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Patented September 29, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE C. VVORTHINGTON, OF ELYRIA, OHIO.

BALL-WVINDING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,348, datedSeptember 29, 1903. Application filed March 25, 1903. Serial No.149,418. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE O. WORTHING- TON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Elyria, in the county of Lorain and State of Ohio,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Ball-WindingMachines, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The invention has for its primary object the winding ofvulcanized-rubber tape upon a core to make a very resilient ball ofsubstant-ially spherical form, which may form the core of a golf-ball,the shell being formed of gutta percha. The mechanism, however, may beused for winding other material than this vulcanized-rubber tape.

The invention consists, fundamentally, of two axially-mounted separabledisks having concentrically grooved faces, mechanism whereby said disksare rotated at diderent speeds, and means for yieldingly opposing theseparation of said disks; and it also consists in the more specificcombinations of parts hereinafter described, and definitely pointed outin the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of the mechanism inits-preferred form. Fig. 2 is an end view thereof. Fig. 3 is a face viewof one of the disks. gitudinal sectional view of said disks; and Fig. 5is a detached view of one of the sets of gears e and it to illustratetheir different proportioning. from the gears d and k shown in Fig. 2.

Referring to the parts by letters, A and B represent two ball-holdingdisks which are mounted in axial aliuement. The proximate faces of thesedisks are provided with con-' centric grooves a and b, in which the ball0 is held while it is being wound. These disks are yieldingly pressedtoward each other, so that as the ball increases in size the disks willseparate proportionately, but will nevertheless hold the ball and turnit, as at first. In the specific construction shown these disks arerespectively secured to the ends of two rotatable shafts D and E, whichare rotatably mounted in suitable standards F and G. Each standard iscomposed of two parts ff and g g, and the driving wheels or gears d and6, through which said shafts pass, are

Fig. 4: is a lon-' prevented from endwise movement by lying between thetwo parts of these standards, respectively. There is a tongne-and-grooveconnection between each shaft and its associated driving gear or Wheel,so that both must rotate together. The two shafts may, however, be movedlongitudinally in the standards F and G.

Surrounding each shaftis a spring J, which thrusts endwise against theassociated standard and the disk secured to said shaft. I prefer to makeboth shafts thus movable endwise instead of one only, because therebythe center of the ball being wound does not move out of what may becalled the Winding plane' during the operation of the mechanism.

The gears d and e mesh with other gears k k, which are secured to thedriving-shaft K. The relative size of gears associated with the shaftsD'and E are dilferent, so that the said shafts, and consequently thedisks attached to them, will rotate at different speeds. Thus, as shown,the gears and d are the same size, each having twenty-sixth teeth, whilethe gears 7c and e are in the proportion of twenty-five to twenty-seven,that being their number of teeth, respectively. This propon tion of thespeeds of the two shafts I have found to work well in practice.

In using the mechanism for the intended purpose the operator separatesthe disks and places between them a core to which one end of. the rubbertape-has been secured in some suitable way, as by winding some of thetape upon said core. The machine being set in operation, the operatorholds the-tape in his hand and applies the necessary tension thereto. Asthe ball is carried around the axis of the disks by their rotation thetape will be wound upon the core; but because of the difference in thespeeds of the two disks the ball will be turned, so as to presentdifferent great circles in the winding plane.

Very satisfactory results have been attained with disks having groovesof various forms; but on the whole, however, the best results seem tohave been attained with grooves of broad V shape, substantially asshown.

In order to provide effective mechanism for separating the disks so thatthe finished ball may be removed or a new core to be wound means ofwhich these bell-crank levers may operate and the shafts D and E causedto move endwise in their bearings.

Having described my invention, I claim' 1. In a ball-winding machine,the combination of two disks rotatably mounted in axial alinement, withmeans yieldingly opposing the separation of said disks, and mechanismfor rotating said disks at unequal speeds, for the purpose specified.

2. In a ball-winding machine, the combination of two disks rotatablymounted in axial alinement, and having concentric grooves intheirproximate faces, with means yieldingly opposing the separation of saiddisks, and mechanism for rotating said disks at unequal speeds, for thepurpose specified.

3. In a ball-winding machine, thecombination of two shafts mounted inaxial alinement and capable of moving endwise in their bearings, anddisks secured to the proximate ends of said shafts and having concentricgrooves in their opposing faces, with mechanism for rotating said shaftsat unequal speeds, and springs acting to move said shafts in theirbearings in the direction to bring the disks nearer together, for thepurpose specified.

4. In a ball-winding machine, the combination of two shafts mounted inaxial alinement and capable of moving endwisein their bearings, anddisks secu red to the proximate ends of said shafts and havingconcentric grooves in their opposing faces, with mechanism for rotatingsaid shafts at unequal speeds,springs acting to move said shafts intheir bearings in the direction to move the disks nearer together,andmechanism for moving said shafts in their bearings in the oppositedirection to separate said disks, for the purpose specified.

5. In a ball-winding machine, the combination of two shafts mounted inaxial alinement and capable of moving endwise in their bearings, anddisks secured to the proximate ends ,of said shafts and havingconcentric grooves in their opposing faces, with mechanism for rotatingsaid shafts at unequal speeds,springs acting to move said shafts'intheir bearings in the direction to move the disks nearer together,grooved collars secured upon said shafts, and forked levers engagingsaid collars whereby to move the shafts against the force of saidsprings, for the purpose specified.

6. In a ball-winding machine, the combination of two shafts rotatablymounted in axial alinemen't,and disks secured to the proximate ends ofsaid shafts and having concentric grooves in their opposing faces; withsprings acting to move said shafts in their bearings to carry the disksnearer together, drivingwheels embracing said shafts and havingtongue-and-groove connections therewith, means preventing thelongitudinal movement of said driving-wheels, and means for rotatingsaid driving-wheels at unequal speeds, for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses.

GEORGE O. WVOR'IHINGTON.

Witnesses:

E. L. THURSTON, ALBERT I-I. BATES.

